"Unhappy!"

I was referred by my optician to attended ophthalmology. My GP did my referral 12 weeks ago as an urgent referral. Working in the NHS, I don't usually have a bad thing to say but as mentioned in previous reviews, it was very difficult to get through to discuss an appt with a member of staff. I gave up after trying a few different numbers and awaited my letter. I received my letter a week before my appt was made for. The letter only stated the date, time of my appt and where to go. The consultant was named on my letter, but I know it's not usually the case to see the top class consultant at appts like this! I attended my appt 15 mins early and granted i was seen straight away to have my eyes checked. 30 minutes later I was called in to see the doctor to which they applied drops in my eye. With 2 small children, I was lucky I had my partner waiting in the car with them as I was told I wasn't allowed to drive. If I'd have attended on my own I would have been sent away to start the referral process again! I was rather disappointed that I wasn't told any information about what my appt would entail. I questioned the doctor to which they replied "please complain to the staff, I have told them many times to write a quick sentence when sending out the letter" to which I did and was told oh I'm sorry I'm glad you had somebody with you though! Maybe rethink the process and type an extra 2 lines to say please make sure you have somebody with you as you will not be able to drive for a few hours after your appt. I hope I don't have to wait a further 12 weeks for a Specialist appt as a working mum of 2 it's difficult to get childcare should I need further assements/treatment and require longer than a weeks notice!

Responses

Hi Christie, Thank you for taking the time to post your comments about our Ophthalmology department. We value all feedback as this allows us to continually review and improve our services. We would like to take this opportunity to reassure you that we are making some developments that will improve the way we deliver our service to patients. We are very aware that some patients are having to wait longer for an appointment or surgery than is ideal and that some patients also have their appointment dates or times changed. We are very sorry for this and want to reassure you that we are making some changes to our processes during August and September that will significantly improve both the appointment process for patients and further reduce waiting times. If your appointment is one that we have to change in August or September, please accept our apologies during this transition; we will aim to ensure you are seen as quickly as possible but if you do have any further concerns, please feel free to contact the following numbers from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 4pm: Enquiries about clinic appointments – 0116 258 6763 Enquiries about surgery - 0116 248 5930 General information – 0116 258 6468 FOR EMERGENCIES ONLY Emergency Eye Casualty – 0116 258 6273 We are also aware that patients have been facing some are difficulty in contacting us on these numbers at peak times due to the volume of calls but we will make every effort to answer your call and resolve any concerns. Kind regards Interim Service Manager Ophthalmology Leicester’s Hospitals